Guest column: Godbold supports gas tax

In the next few weeks, the City Council will decide the fate of the local option six-cent gas tax which was first enacted in 1986 when I was mayor.

Back then, Jacksonville had an almost $200 million backlog of priority road projects - but no revenue to build new infrastructure or maintain what we had.

It was a real threat to economic development, job creation and quality of life.

Now, here we are almost 30 years later facing similar crossroads.

The current gas tax will expire in 2016.

The Jacksonville Transportation Authority has identified about $170 million dollars in road projects that have not been built because the Better Jacksonville Plan's half-cent sales tax has run out of money.

And there is no revenue in the city coffers.

A SENSIBLE PLAN

That's one big reason Council President Bill Gulliford has introduced a bill to extend the gas tax for another 20 years.

Under Gulliford's plan, five cents of the tax will go to the JTA to help fund transit services and bond road construction projects.

The other penny will remain with the city to pay for road maintenance as well as bicycle and pedestrian trails.

If the council votes to extend the gas tax, it is estimated that more than $100 million of those unfinished projects can be bonded and built.

The JTA says construction can begin immediately.

It will put hundreds of people to work.

There is another reason extension of the gas tax is needed.

Without it, transit service will be reduced by at least 25 per cent.

That means people who depend on buses for work, school and doctor visits will be stranded.

Free bus service for seniors will be eliminated.

Student discounts will end.

This is totally unacceptable.

The mayor is opposed to extending the gas tax.

He will most likely use his veto if the legislation passes.

That's unfortunate.

THIS ISN'T A NEW TAX

The public should understand these facts:

» The 6-cent gas tax is critical to build the transportation infrastructure and support transit operations that will allow us to compete for investment and jobs and ensure our quality of life.

» A large percentage (estimates as much 40 percent) of the gas tax is paid by non-Duval County residents; people from adjacent counties who commute to Jacksonville for work, and thousands of motorists who pass through the county.

» Approval of the gas tax now will assure the Jacksonville Transportation Authority that it will have a guaranteed source of revenue to bond road projects and take advantage of current lower interest rates and construction costs.

This is not a new tax.

It is an extension of a tax that has been in existence since 1986.

And it is a tax collected in all 67 Florida counties.

There are 22 counties that levy 12 cents a gallon.

I'm confident City Council will approve Gulliford's bill.

I encourage the residents of Duval County to appreciate and support it for doing so. It's the sensible thing to do for Jacksonville.

Jake M. Godbold is former mayor of Jacksonville.

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